Whitewater

World

Hebrews 12:2 Looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

            I have been whitewater rafting many times in Colorado and Wyoming. The roaring rapids increase your adrenaline while the beauty of the river and surrounding landscape provide an inspirational escape from the world. Every time I have gone rafting we have always had a guide; my family is certainly not skilled enough to do it on our own and chaos would certainly consume. The guide is the one who tells you when to paddle and how many strokes, and as long as you follow directions and listen well, you can make it down the river without getting dunked in the ice cold water.

            There are many of us who often want Jesus to be that guide yelling "Right side paddle!" or "All back!," especially right before you hit a huge rock in the middle of life's river. The feeling of Jesus directing our every move is comforting and empowering. For many, however, the signals from Jesus tend to often be muffled by the sound of the crashing waves, or Jesus seems to even be silent. The disciples experienced this while they were all on a boat during a storm - and what was Jesus found doing?...sleeping! The crashing waves of life can be scary and overwhelming.

            Knowing that Jesus is in the "raft" with us is comforting. If Jesus is truly the "pioneer" of our faith, then we should be looking for his guidance and listening for those times when Jesus gives us directions. Remember that a pioneer is one who goes before everyone else to make new pathways. Jesus is not only with us, but he goes before us. He is wherever we are seeking to guide and strengthen our relationship with God.

I do not believe we can always avoid the obstacles in our lives. Jesus may have performed miracles, but as our scripture from Hebrews reminds, us he also endured the cross. We are human and we should not expect our lives to go perfectly as we would like, but instead long to be perfected in Christ's love. Our faith and ability to live out the love and grace of God is what Christ empowers us to do. Jesus' guidance along the way of life has often less to do with the right moves and more to do with the right attitude and way of being. Jesus is interested in helping us to more fully care for and support others in this world and how to more perfectly love God. So the questions that we should ask in this "whitewater world" include: 1) Where is Jesus at the present moment? 2) How has Jesus gone before me, preparing the way? And 3) How might I live out my love for God and give to others, even in uncertain times?